Telangana minister asks report on Maharashtra police busting drug unit in Hyderabad

Hyderabad, Sep 8 (PTI) Telangana Excise Minister Jupally Krishna Rao on Monday asked officials to submit a comprehensive report on Maharashtra police busting a mephedrone (a banned synthetic drug) manufacturing unit here.

Rao, who enquired with officials about the facts of the matter, directed them to visit the unit located at Cherlapally here and submit a report within 24 hours, an official release said.

Observing that Maharashtra police have seized raw materials used in the production of mephedrone in Hyderabad, he questioned, "What the Telangana excise department doing?" He told officials to take steps to prevent the recurrence of such developments and prepare an action plan to check the menace of narcotics.

He asked the officials to maintain surveillance on the consumption and transportation of narcotics and also to keep an eye on supply links involving peddlers and consumers.

Following the minister's directives, excise department officials visited the unit, and they would submit a report on Tuesday, the release said.

Meanwhile, the Telangana Drugs Control Administration said the unit is a chemical factory and not a drug licence holder and not a pharmaceutical company.

The Administration said in a release that the matter falls under the jurisdiction of enforcement authorities such as police, Narcotics Control Bureau, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and other Central and state agencies, empowered under the NDPS Act, 1985.

Meanwhile, BRS Working President K T Rama Rao on Monday attacked the Congress government over the Maharashtra police busting the unit in Hyderabad.

Alleging that the government made tall claims about controlling the menace of drugs, he claimed what the government agencies, including EAGLE (Elite Action Group for Drug Law Enforcement), police and intelligence have been doing when such an illegal activity was going on under their nose.

The Mira Bhayander Vasai Virar (MBVV) police in Maharashtra busted the mephedrone manufacturing unit at Cherlapally here and arrested 12 persons, including a Bangladeshi woman, a senior official said in Thane on Saturday.

"The total value of the items seized, including mephedrone, will be running into several crore rupees. We have arrested 12 persons, including a Bangladeshi woman. Further probe is underway to unravel the entire supply chain linked to the unit," he had said.

The MBVV police had said on X that the raid on the factory was carried out after a month-long probe. PTI SJR VVK SJR ADB